Mark Morris Dance Company

Last week, a group of scholars spent an enjoyable evening picking apart the different elements of Mark Morris’ L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato—the original poems by John Milton and the score that George Frederic Handel set to them; the evocative illustrations by William Blake and their analogue to the choreography; and the place that the work holds in Morris’ development. All fascinating topics, but in the end, all of them less satisfying than the dance itself. Using some of the simplest movements, Morris has his cast run and skip, slide, and sway through an ideal world. As critic and SW alum Roger Downey pointed out, Mark Morris uses steps that everyone in the audience would know, to create the sublime. Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., 467-5510, www.theparamount.com. $35–$75. 8 p.m. Fri., May 16-Sat., May 17, 2 p.m. Sun., May 18. SANDRA KURTZ
Fri., May 16, 8 p.m.; Sat., May 17, 8 p.m.; Sun., May 18, 2 p.m., 2008